That is the general consensus of a handful of coaches, general managers and scouts on hand at the Orlando Pro Summer League.

“On a team with Carmelo, [James] Harden and Dwight [Howard], on most nights one guy is gonna go home mad,” said one executive. “On a lot of other nights, two guys might go home mad. Then there would be those nights when all three are mad. I don’t think that’s a way to win a championship.”

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey was at the Amway Center to take in the action of his young wannabes, but was not commenting on reports that the team made an offer of a four-year, $85 million to $88 million contract to Bosh. He originally agreed to do a halftime interview on NBA TV with Isiah Thomas and Matt Winer, but backed out at the last minute.

A year ago, Morey and Rockets coach Kevin McHale got the club fined $150,000 when they arrived at the Summer League and promptly made premature comments about the signing of the free agent Howard. This time it’s zipped lips.

Bosh may not pack the scoring punch or the same A-list marquee appeal as Anthony, but he’s a much better fit for the Rockets’ offense.

“If you’re trying to draw a picture of the kind of player they need to blend right in pretty seamlessly in Houston, you’d come away with a likeness of Bosh,” said a scout. “He’s a stretch four that can make those 3-point shots that Houston loves. He’ll defend. And mostly, he’s not the kind of high-maintenance personality that you’d be taking on in Anthony. He’s the one who’s sacrificed the most in Miami. Carmelo and Harden are just too much alike in needing the ball and they would both have issues giving way to the other one at the end of games.”

Putting Bosh on the front line would be like allowing Howard to step into a time machine and go back to his days in Orlando when Rashard Lewis filled up the bucket with 3-pointers and the Magic went to the NBA Finals in 2009.

“That’s the kind of situation that Howard thrived in with the Magic,” said an assistant coach. “That’s when Dwight was at his best. With Rashard out there, he was able to open up the floor and created so much space for Dwight to go to work.

“The question that a lot of people had about Dwight going into last season was whether he was finally healthy again. Would that back hold up. It looked like it did and it’s safe to say that physically he’s back to being very close to his old self. What you want to see now is an offensive system that allows him to go back to being his old self. That’s Bosh.”

There was a time back in 2010 when Bosh was anything but a fall-back plan for the Rockets. The last time he was a free agent, Morey was knocking on his door one minute after the opening of the free agency period and wanted to make him the foundation of the team. Bosh chose then to join LeBron James and Dwyane Wade in Miami.

Now, four years later, Bosh is right back in their sights as the alternative to Anthony and would probably be the right target, even if Rockets weren’t originally aiming for him.

63 Comments

Okay the comparism between lin and Bosh is vVery unfair. Lin had a few Great games. But Bosh has been pretty consisten during his career chanig and iprhgame to fiti to Miami. Thre no way Boshcabe a mistake for us I mean we the Rockets have not gotten past the 1st roun sinece the mid 90s. The addition of Bosh can only improve our chnaces of doing that. Now is he worth ALL that money… ? the better question is how bad do you want him.. Remember he has options ie staying in Miami or any other team at that. We are the ones that have to show him how bad we want him.
There i no dub tha we rebtithout Lin, I thgink if he works on his game he can develop into something special.. But he has to really really work on his game. he simply is not the point guard that we though he was going to be. HE was not a MISTAKE just a learning experience

The Spurs won this year over Miami a team that slept thru a good portion of the regular season,I picked them to win it this year over Miami and I live in Miami.If Miami upgrades the roster which could includes Bosh leaving and them getting bigger by getting Gasol or more versatile and tougher defensively along with Lebron coming back I will bet 100 dollars the Spurs wont win it in 2015.Lebron is the most dominant player in the league when he needs to be, who is that player for the Spurs,Leonard you might reply,give me a brea, he is not and never will be in the same category as James,Durant or even Tim Duncan in his prime.Enjoy the win Spurs fans its very possible your team does not even make it to the finasl playing in the Western conference in 2015.

I was all for melo to Houston until I really thought about it, if wegot melo then no Parsons. If we get Bosh (who is a great fit in Houston) then we could trade lin and resign Parsons..what goes on in the head of Daryl Morey i do not know

Imagine Bosh, Gasol, or any of these players searching for a home, a home where they can stay and win championships, and they don’t go full-bore after getting in with the Spurs. That just seems ignorant. It just seems like a no-brainer, seek out the best team ball franchise in the league today and possibly in the league’s history, as a home to go to. No-brainer as far as I’m concerned!!

The smart thing for any of these players to do, would be to try and get on board with the San Antonio Spurs. They have got to be the pick to win it all next year. Leonard, Mills, Splitter, etc will all only improve over the next 3 years under Pop’s system. Look for Leonard (especially) to become a serious force and MVP candidate over the next few years. Nobody saw him coming as a serious franchise player, but look what the Spurs do with #39 and #57 picks in the draft!! Imagine what they can do with a #15 pick!! They have already home grown him into a Finals MVP!! Leonard is far from peaked out as a player, the Spurs will turn him into a league MVP mark my words…

Bosh is overrated!! He’s better than average but not a max deal type player. I hope Houston does get Bosh and Parsons. Bosh would fit in great with H-Town. The fans in Texas are loyal to their teams win or lose we show our love. It would be awesome to see Houston vs San Antonio Western Conference Finals… Texas Showdown!! GO SPURS GO!!!

how about wade to cleveland, lebron to toronto and bosh in miami? seems like bosh likes miami and willing to take a pay cut but he doesnt know they might cut him if Melo decides to join lebron in miami. no money for mega 3 so why would they have money for mega 4?

You realize the Rockets will have to give up valuable depth to overpay Bosh, right? You see what happens to teams when they overpay “stars” and sacrifice depth? You can tell people never watched the Raptors and only look at stats when they say Bosh was a superstar who sacrificed stats. He was the “leader” of a lottery team for a reason and there is a reason no one misses him in Toronto. The Rockets don’t have the defensive scheme that the Heat had and Bosh hasn’t been double teamed in 4 years. He is 30 yrs old and in his mind never responsible for things going wrong. Not a good candidate for $90 million over 4 years.

Chris Bosh is a way better fit for the Rockets than Melo. Sure Melo is a great spot up shooter and is extremely effective from 3 point range, but the Rockets already have enough people on the roster who can shoot the three ball. In addition, Melo isn’t very good defensively, which is what got the Rockets into trouble in the first place. Bosh is a better fit because he will be a great defensive presence down low with Dwight Howard, which will force teams to beat us by shooting mid-range jumpers and threes instead of getting easy layups. He also will improve the Rockets mid-range game, as they were last in the NBA last season in that category. I believe he will be a mentor for Terrence Jones, who will now have the opportunity to learn from one of the greats.

I’d be excited about this, If and ONLY IF the Rockets also Keep Chandler Parsons and Troy Daniels. A starting 5 of Beverly, Harden, Parsons, Bosh and Howard, with T. Jones, Canaan and Troy Daniels coming off the bench. Nice roster.

I believe Bosh is a great player. He well deserves all the money he makes with Miami.
He doesn’t deserve to take no pay cut to favor LeBron (also a great player).

I’d say run for the money guys. You’re well worth it. make the league lot more interesting!
Remeber Basketball is a TEAM game. Takes minimum 3 superstar players to win Championship – not 2.5. Sorry D Wade. Getting old ain’t fun.

Plan b (OSH) for Rockets would be tailor fit. Having Howard and harden would solidify their chances to make it on 2nd round next season. Culture shock for bosh it wouldn’t be very easy to make it to the finals compare to east coast. Cb prepare for west warfare!

bosh can not carrya team. he got free ride from lebron and wade. look at his performance in toronto when he was made the franchise (in a hurry) cuz vince carter left). he is not cut-out for this game. runs like manut bol

Hmm.. intresting yep i believe he will be a GREAT!!! fit for Houston, But one thing we are forgetting to take into consideration.. Is BOSH.. Does he really want too come to Houston or the western confrence at that.. The west is waaaaaaaay different from the east. We have waay more phisical and big power forward. I dont know if he can take all that bangging around the paint especially at this stage in his career. Secondly, Bosh truly has a BETER chance of winning another championship. If he simply stays in Miami. Pat riely is a Master of adding GOOD players . NOw he has added granger and a couple other valuable pieces. Dont get me wrong as a ROCKET fan I’m all for him coming down here… But for championships its probably better to stay put.

I thought Bosh would be a better fit in Dallas! But hey if I were Bosh I’m taking that Texas Houston max contract money. Miami looks like they’re running out of options and at least with Houston he has a realistic chance of winning a championship maybe even more championships than Wade and James!

Rockets would be a good place for Bosh, but why on earth Houston should sign him if they already have a better AND cheaper forward – Chandler Parsons? Yeah, Bosh has championship experience, but he’s no superstar. Never was and never will. I just don’t see that trade making Houston better. And if you consider the money…

Houston should throw the kitchen sink and try get K LOVE and not B plan Bosh…..How the hell would any opposing team get a rebound with D Howard and K Love on the same time??? And we all know K Love can shoot the 3 well enough

Difference is in coaching, not in rooster. Miami does not need better players, Miami needs better coaching. Most off the NBA coaches are so predictable. It’s always the same, toss the ball to best player and hope he’ll score. Spurs has weaker players on every position, and it was the same with Dallas, several years before. Popovic is in Spurs so long that he is the one making decisions – so any player who signs for them, must adapt or go. Lbg, Melo, Kobe, Harden, Howard…., they all became so precious that coaches has a fear of confrontation with them, and they can’t coach. This summer prices are wild. 8-12 M for mediocre players. 24 M/year for Melo – for me 15-16 M tops. New York is done for 5 years if he choose to stay.

Bosh should go to rockets
His play style is needed for howard to play inside while bosh outside
And I think Bosh skill’s is reduced in miami since they already had two great superstars
Harden will be the scoring machine, Howard will be the defensive and rebound machine
In offense, Bosh will lure the defender (PF) out so it will leave howard one on one and decrease the chances for double team,
If the defender goes for double team, it will leave Bosh open and he can shoot. If the ball didn’t go in still we have the almighty dwight howard who will battle for getting rebound (since his opponent only center) in the paint area
And then we have Parsons which is excellent in 3pt, after that the forgotten Lin. He is good player but lack in rotation.
I don’t know what McHale’s plan, maybe he want to use Lin as a 6th man while Beverley will lockdown the opponents PG and exhaust him so Lin can move easily in the court

yes, exactly, but I don’t think Lin will be a rocket anytime soon…they’re offering bosh a max deal, he’ll probably end up in Philadelphia where he has a bright future ahead of him and can play as a two guard there, but if Morey can pull this off then Houston will be a bonafide contender automatically

bosh would be perfect in houston because he will help them in mid range and 3 point shooing plus he is a decent defender. if he does come howard can take some of the defensive pressure off . all houston needs to do is trade Lin and re- sign parsons. also bosh could learn from olajuwon.

Bosh is a good player, but you are really out of touch if you think that he really wants to go to the western conference, because there is no way he wants to have to match up with Blake Griffin, Kevin Love, Lamarcus Alridge, Zach Randolph, Serge Ibaka, and Anthony Davis every night, he would get destroyed by those guys.

Bosh would be perfect in houston because he will help them in mid range and add to 3 point shooing plus he is a decent defender not good a defending bigs but good at defending players at his position(PF). howard will take that pressure off of him. then all they would have to do is trade lin and re-sign parsons. also bosh could increase his post game with Olajuwon.

It doesn’t matter where Bosh goes, he would do fine and better either Miami or Houston. Miami cannot win any championship with Wade as a starter. people have to realized that Wade of today is not that old Wade anymore. Wade need to come from Bench like Ginobli for Miami to win the championship not just to get to the Finals but to take it all.

As long as Bosh and LeBron don’t play together again, I’ll be happy. Houston is a very good fit for Chris. I’d honestly pick him over Carmelo as the Rockets don’t need another superstar and they should let Chandler Parsons grow as a player. CB brings championship experience with him, and can help mentor the guys there. Despite the lack of spark compared to James and Wade, he is definitely an upgrade to the PF position. Playing in the west should also make him a lot tougher than he is now.

bosh or melo puts houston over the top…if this doesn’t work out i think they should work something like Asik and Lin for Hibbert and Stephenson…Hibbert backing up dwight would be total paint lockdown…then beverly and stephenson bring ridiculous toughness and Harden will basically have free range

Carmelo Anthony would have been a terrible fit for the Rockets. No way Melo and Harden and D12 on the same floor at the same time would work. No way. Neither Harden nor Melo play any defense at all, and both love to shoot the ball. Bad mix. Melo is most likely down to the Bulls and Knicks, forget the Lakers for him too. As for Bosh, don;t think he;s moving either. The opt out seem like a plan by all 3 to help bring in same help (so far, McRoberts and Danny Granger) and then restructure the deals for the Big 3 to fit around that. The SH blog has a great piece on LeBron’s free agency, worth a read, makes sense: http://straighthoops.com/sorry_youre_not_getting_lebron.html